If you are considering applying for a place on a degree programme with modern languages, there are many things you need to consider before making your choice of course. EducationGuardian's languages league tables are one source of information that might help you.

The first thing to be aware of is there is a vast array of degree courses which include modern languages. These can be classified in three categories: single honours language degree programmes, such as French or German studies; joint modern language degree programmes, such as German and Italian, or Hispanic and French studies; and joint or combined degree programmes, in which you study a modern language with another subject, for example law and French.

Many universities offer students the opportunity to study a modern language as part of their languages-for-all or institution-wide language programme. Thus, a student taking geography or information technology might take an option in, for example, beginners' Dutch, or Japanese, or Arabic. In these cases, the language is not a named element of the degree title but it should appear on any transcript of study.

Within these different types of modern language degree, there is again diversity. On both the single and joint modern language degree programmes, the foreign language may be started at a number of different levels: post-A-level, post-GCSE and beginners, so it is important to check the language you want is available at the level you need. Within these programmes, study of the language will be combined with very different things in different universities: all, or some, literature, linguistics, cultural studies and area studies may be studied with the language. In area studies for example, study of the language is combined with study of the society, economy, politics and culture of the country or region. It is also worth noting French and Spanish or Hispanic studies may not be confined to study of metropolitan France and Spain. Some courses offer the opportunity to study the broader Francophone world within French studies, and some Spanish/Hispanic courses also cover Portugal and Latin America. The same is true of degree programmes which combine the study of the language with another subject: the content of the non-language part of the degree programme varies from one institution to another.

So what should you do to make sure you are on the right course? Here is a checklist which may help you:

· Use the university prospectus to check the university you want to go to offers the language you want to study at the level at which you need to study it. The Teaching Quality Assessments used in EducationGuardian's tables date from 1996. Since then, much has changed in the university world of modern languages: several universities have withdrawn from modern languages degrees altogether and others have reduced their provision. So it is important to check the latest university prospectus and UCAS course profile to make sure what you want is available.

· Use league tables published in the press with caution and, when you do use more than one, as each is compiled on a different basis. EducationGuardian's league tables give average Teaching Quality Assessment scores for language departments which were assessed separately in different languages. For example, a university which scored 23 in Italian, 21 in French and 19 in Russian will have its position in the languages league table based on an average score of 21. But if you want to study Italian, the 19 in Russian does not concern you, whereas the 23 clearly does. So check out the university's ratings for the specific languages that concern you.

· Decide if you want to combine language study with another subject. If so, is this combination available at your chosen university?

· Think about what aspects of society and culture you want to study in your language degree. Again, check the prospectus and, if it is still not clear, go to the university's open day and ask.

· One of the most popular language courses in recent years has been European studies. There have been no Teaching Quality Assessments or subject reviews for European studies and it does not feature in most league tables. In the absence of a teaching quality indicator, a university's performance in European studies research can give an indication of the university's national and international standing in the field. And again, check the university prospectus to find out exactly what 'European studies' covers at your university of choice: there are enormous differences between universities.

· When visiting a university, ask yourself if you feel comfortable in the department. Is it welcoming? What is the atmosphere like?

· Finally, don't be put off from doing a language degree by their reputation for being "hard" or by the mistaken belief the only thing a languages degree prepares you for is a career in teaching or translating. All degrees with modern languages will develop your communication skills, which is the quality employers most often mention they require from their graduate recruits. This is probably the reason one of the most recent national surveys of graduate employment shows language graduates are, after law and medicine graduates, the least likely to be unemployed.